A TRANSITIONAL council has been sworn in to pick Haiti’s new prime minister and cabinet and prepare for eventual presidential elections in an effort to curb rampant gang violence.

Outgoing premier Ariel Henry, who has been locked out of the country for the past couple of months by the violence, cleared the way for the transition by presenting his resignation on Thursday in a letter signed in Los Angeles.

Mr Henry’s outgoing cabinet chose Economy and Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert as interim prime minister in the meantime. It was not clear when the transitional council would name its own choice for the post.